Ready to Thrive

Melinda Estabrooks is the executive producer and host of the TV show See, Hear, Love. I sat down with her to discuss their new book, Always Know: A Collection of Inspiring Words & Stories from See Hear Love Guests and Friends.

Let me tell you, Melinda has some unique aspects to her story, including being adopted, her years as a child Bible smuggler, teenage rebellion, re-marrying, and meeting her biological mother. Her story is filled with God’s redemptive hand and I know this conversation will not only bring tears to your eyes, it will draw you closer to the God who is in the business of redeeming all things.

And this is why it pays to respond to Instagram stories…earlier this week I was sharing about this milestone and asking how I should celebrate 100 episodes. The response was nearly unanimous that I should do a solo show. And then the next thing you know we were deciding on a topic and here we are! But really, it is fitting as that is where we started. I believe it was Episode 1 where I started breaking down John 10:10 so it kind of feels like a full circle moment.

As always, I hope this episode equips and encourages you, and I hope it helps you move one step closer to thriving!

Have you ever struggled to believe you are worth loving? Have you ever heard the voice of negativity and criticism? Have you ever struggled just to make it through the day? I have. And this week’s guest, Eryn Eddy has. I love this honest and raw conversation about some of the darkest moments in Eryn’s life and how God met her exactly where she was. She didn’t need to clean herself up or polish herself up, but God loved her and met her right where she was. And God reminded her that, as must as she was struggling in the current circumstances in her life, she was So Worth Loving. And so are you.

Wherever you are at today friend, if you feel like you are too far gone, if your circumstances feel too difficult, if you feel like you’re not sure you’re going to make it. I get that. Listen in, be encouraged, and know that you are not alone, you are seen, you are loved, and this is not the end.

Grab Eryn’s book, So Worth Loving: How Discovering Your True Value Changes Everything, here!

If you are ready to begin to throw off the lies that are holding you back - grab my free download Lies vs Truth here!

How’s your faith, friend? Still standing firm or feeling a little shaky these days? This past year has been such a faith-tester hasn’t it? And to be honest, even the sturdiest of us have taken a hit this year. It’s felt a bit like a stripping away of all that we once held onto and we can be left feeling a little bit exposed. And from that place, that “wow I can’t believe all that has changed” place. We come back to the firm foundation. We come back to the truth. And these daily habits begin to build for us something that is stronger, unshakable, something firm.

I loved this conversation with Jen Pollock Michel and I was deeply moved by her latest book, A Habit Called Faith: 40 Days in the Bible to Find and Follow Jesus.  If you’re looking for a book that will help you dive into the Bible and deepen your faith, this is it!

Jen Pollock Michel is an award winning author and mother of 5. She is an American that calls Canada home and is just an absolute delight to talk to. I know you will love this conversation! I know it will build your faith!

I first came across Kat Lee a few years ago right around the time when God was nudging me to begin waking up before my kids to spend time with Him. Isn’t it funny how God brings us exactly what we need at exactly the right time? She was one of a few online mentors that gave me the tools to step forward into what God was inviting me into.

I know this conversation is going to encourage you to meet with God however your season looks like right now.

And if you want some practical tools to begin to wake up for your life, check out Hello Mornings. And you can grab Kat Lee’s book Hello Mornings: How to build a Grace-Filled, Life-Giving Morning Routine here!

We all wear labels. Whether they were placed on us by a person, a circumstance, an issue or ourselves. And many times these labels are negative. Many times they keep us stuck and keep us small. In my own experience, throwing off labels is an active process. We first begin by identifying the label and then replacing it with the truth. If you want a little help in this area, you can grab my free lies vs truth pdf and begin to throw them off for good!

If you’re wondering if Arden Bevere is related to John and Lisa Bevere then you are right! He’s the youngest of their 4 sons! But don’t let his age fool you, he is wise beyond his years! He’s a co-founder of Sons and Daughters, a movement committed to raising up a generation of uncompromising followers of Christ who will transform our world.

Arden has just released his first book, Redefined: Confronting the Labels that Limit Us. He has a passion to see his generation go further than any that came before it, and become fully alive in this God-Adventure.

Dr Caroline Leaf is a world-renowned Neuroscientist and a best-selling author of multiple books. We sit down to discuss her latest book, Cleaning Up Your Mental Mess: 5 Simple, Scientifically Proven Steps to Reduce Anxiety, Stress, and Toxic Thinking and how you really can renew your mind!

I love how Dr. Leaf reminds us that feelings of depression and anxiety are completely normal human responses! She simply teaches us how to process and deal with our experiences and emotions rather than try to hide from them! If you’ve ever felt overwhelmed by feelings of anxiety and depression you are not alone! And in this episode we discuss the app Dr. Leaf created that has had overwhelmingly positive results on renewing the mind. Check it out here!

Kelsey Chapman is an author, podcaster, and personal cheerleader to women who are building their dream life and business. She is the author of What They Taught Me: Recognizing the Mentors Who Will Take You from Dream to Done.

Do we recognize the gold right under our nose? Sometimes the mentors we need are right in front of us. Sometimes we need to seek it out and even (gasp) pay for it! And sometimes we need to be the one to pour out. And maybe, we need to do all of those things at the same time. If you’re feeling a little stuck right now, the right mentor might be just what you need to keep going.

Jennie Lusko serves alongside her husband Levi, leading Fresh Life Church in Montana, Utah, Wyoming, and Oregon, as well as across the world online. They have five children: Alivia, Daisy, Clover, Lennox, and Lenya, who is waiting for them in heaven. The Lusko family lives in Montana and enjoys bike rides, walks, lake days, late-night hot tub and cold plunge parties, movies and family breakfast. Jennie loves spin and boxing, good food and sugary coffee, and wearing the same thing every day but also getting fashion advice from Levi. Jennie is also a hugger, so beware if you meet her!

I loved this conversation with Jennie and I know you will too! She has an incredible way of encouraging you right where you are at and calling you to engage in the fight rather than sit on the sidelines. This conversation, and her book The Fight to Flourish will help you thrive in this season.

Ashley Opliger didn’t have any plans to start a nonprofit. She was just a woman excited to be pregnant for the first time with her baby girl, Bridget. Early on in her pregnancy, complications were evident and Ashley was given orders for bedrest. Despite doing everything in her earthly power to care for her baby girl, Ashley went into labour at a mere 24 weeks and sweet Bridget entered this world already in the arms of Jesus.

Ashley’s mom, a nurse in the very hospital where her granddaughter was born, had anticipated this devastating outcome and had knit baby Bridget a tiny blanket to match her little frame. She followed a nudge and decided to close up the sides turning this little blanket into a cradle. This small act of love enabled Ashley and her husband to hold sweet Bridget and connect with her in a way they would not have been able to had she been draped in a hospital blanket designed for full-term babies.

In the following months, Ashley not only learned to lean into her grief but she began to use her pain for purpose and Bridget’s Cradles was birthed in the very nursery meant for Bridget herself. Bridget’s cradles now supplies hand-knit and crocheted cradles to over 1,000 hospitals in the US.

Ashley’s story is one of grief and loss, but also one of redemption and choosing to say, God you are still good; these circumstances are not good, but you still are.

Ashley’s desire and mission is to share the hope of Christ and Heaven with families grieving the

loss of a baby. Ashley also leads Hope Gatherings monthly Christ-centered support groups in

person in Wichita, Kansas, and online for women and couples throughout the country.